Leer.



R. H. MILLER.

LBBR- Y APPLIUATION HLLD JIULY ,15, 1909.

mgmg Patented Aug. 19, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

R. H. MILLER..

LEERL APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, 1909,

Patented Aug. 19, 1913.

3 SHEETS-TSBEET 2.

/l. ISM. l.

R. H. MILLER.

WLEER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15,1909.

Patented Aug. 19, 1913.

LTSQ.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Remnant" H. MILLER', or" s'r. Louis, Missouri, AssIG'noR/roj Lacuna-CHRISTY 'CLAY receivers coureur, or sr. Louis, Missoula, A: CORPORATION or mssoun'r.

LEER;

Speci'caton of Letters Patent.

Application led July 15', 1909. Serial No. 507,737.

leere, the object of my invention being toA construct a leer iny which a; continuous conveyer is arranged to recei've articlesI to' be annealed and carry such articles through a series of compartments ci? varying temperatures, whereby the articles to be annealed are-sul'xjfwtedl to a gradually increasing; then gradually dimirushing;t temperature and not.

subjected tov outside atmosphere until removed from the leer.

A further object ot .my invention is tol construct a leer for annealing inl which a maximum o'f annealing area is obtained occupying a minimum of Hoor space.

For the above purposes my inventionconsists in certainI novel features of the corrstruction and arrangement oil parts as will be hereinafter more'fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in' the accompanying drawings, inI Which-t Figure 1 an elevation' of the complete leer;1 `ig. u2 is a longitudinal, sectional elev'ationl or Dthe complete leer; Fig. 31 is a transverse, sectional elevation' taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and, Fig. 1 1s a transverse sectionalv elevation taken on line t--4f oi Fig.- l.

g Referring by numerals4 to' the accompanying' dra-wings: ldesignates the base, 2 andy 3 the side Walls, 4 and 5 theend' Walls and 6Y the top of the leer.

p base 1 to axpont some considerableA dii-italico Extending longitudinally of the leer,I ad'- jacent the top 6,I is a artition 6 and connecting W-ithsaid partition is a= plurality of dividing Walls 6b supported by the hollow rectangular bars 7' extended through the side Walis 2 and 3- some considerable distance above the base 1. v i

lintermediate eachpairY ofA dividing Walls @bis a dividing Wamll 8 extending from the below the partition 6a. Shafts 9 are rotatably mounted in suitable bearings in' each of the side Walls 2 and 3A beneath the Walls 6b y `and stub-shafts 10 are non-rotatably mounted' inthe side wal-ls above the dividlng Walls 8'. sprocket Wheels 11, and carried by each stubshaft 10 is ai sprocket wheel 12, similar to 'the wheelsi 11'. Stub-shafts 1-3 are non-rotatably mounted in the side Walls 2 and 3 near each end or' the leer, adjacent the top h6' and sprocket wheels 11i-are supported' by said stub-shaft 13'. Endless chains 15 embrace thel sprocket Wheels 1:1, 12 and 111, and arranged' at regular intervals on the chain 4are links 16 which carry the rods 17. Suspended fromI each rod 17 is a tray 18 the Patented dug. 119, 11913.v

Carried by eachl shaft 9 is a pair of' sides o'ii which are vertical for a portion of their height,I then' incl-ine inwardly toward eachother for purposes hereinafter made clear.- r)She shafts 9 at eachl end of the leer .project beyond the side Wall 2 and sprocket Wheels 19 are mounted thereon and emfbracedby a chain 20. The shaft 9,v at the rightI hand end of the leer, projects beyond the wa-llf 2 agreater' distance than the shaft t9 at the' left hand end of the leer and is provided- With` a bearing 21.- A driving mechanismv 22 is positioned adjacent the right ha'nd' shaft 9 arranged' to impart motion to :the conveyer chains 15 through the medium of the sprocket Wheel 23, chain 2i a, sprocket Wheel 24 carried' by the right hand shaft 9, .the sprocket wheels 19 and chain 20.

l prefer to employ a' continuously driven motor in connection with my driving mechanism and utilize a means such as a clutch (not shown)l operated by a pedal 25 to set the conveyer in motion. A

A furnace 2,8 is arranged, adjacent the right hand: end of the leer, to discharge heat into a number of the compartments, formed by the Walls Gl and 8. As shown, the furnace is arranged for burninghydro-carbon, there being av greater number of burner openings in the right hand compartment than inl the succeeding compartments.

Openings 27, formed in the base of the leer between the furnace and compartments, permit' the heat to'rise from the furnace into lthe compartments and dempers 28 are arranged in the openings for directing and cont-rolling the heat fronrthe furnace. An.

heat from one compartment tothe other.

, the ends of said compartment.'

is arranged adjacent the left hand of the leerv through which the heat escapesafter having passed through the compartments formed by the'walls 6h and 8 and the compartment formed-by the partition '6i and l'top of the the leer and the initial wall 6l.

leer.

Openings 36 are formed in the side walls 2 and 3, in each of the compartments formed by the walls 6b and 8, adjacent the base of the leer and doors 37 are provided for closing the openings. Similar openings 38 are formed in the side walls communicating with the compartment between the partition (ia and top of the leer and doors 39 are arranged for closing said openings.

When the conveyer is set in motion the shutters 33 and 34 are automatically lop-A erated and as shown are provided with rods 40 which ride inthe slots 41. Bellcrank levers 42 are pivoted to the side walls of the leer and their long arms connected with the rods 40. Rods 43 are pivotally connected with the short arms ol the lever 42 and with the bell-cranks 44 pivoted yto the side of the leer adjacent the end shafts 9. Spiders 45 Aare carried by the end shafts 9 and arranged to engageV the short arms otthe bell-crank levers 44., I

Plates 45a are pivoted within the leer in the path of travel of the trays 18 and are provided with weighted leversv 46 arranged to hold the plates 45 against the trays18 to prevent escape of heat upwardly from the initial compartment formed by the end 5 of In the terminal compartment, formed by the end 4 of the leer and the wall 6b, plates 47, similar to the plates 4'5, are arranged, in the path of travel of the trays, and are operated Aby the trays to permit their travel upwardly through the terminal compartment, which plates serve to prevent heat from escaping from said terminal compartment. Tracks 48 are arranged in the compartment, formed bythe partition 6a and top o the leer, for supporting the conveyer and trays between the sprocket wheels 13 and 14. -4

In the operation of the leer the operators fill the tray, adjacent the filling opening in the end of the leer, with varticles to be an-- nealed. Thel pedal 25 is then depressed which connects the conveyor with the driv-l ing mechanism and moves the entire con veyer until a second tray has passed the filling opening. In this manner the trays are successively filled and, during their travel through the compartments are subjected to a gradually increasing temperature in theinitial compartment 'and rom-thenceare subjected to a graduallydiininshing teinperature. The trays are'then successively emptied, which operations, the lling and emptying, may be continuous. In starting the leer andpreparing it in condition to an-l neal articles, the burners in the furnace are".

ignited, and the temperatures of thefvarious compartments, controlled -by the various dempers, in the compartments, to the proper degrees. It will be obvious that the trays, in the compartment formed by the top of the leer and partition 6-, will be heated and put in Afcondition to receive articles tor be annealed. The operator then causes the rst tray, thus heated, to be moved to a position adjacent the lill-ing opening, it' being under-- stood that with each movement of the cont veyer the shutters 33 and 34 are automatically opened and closed during the passage of each tray. The operation offilling the trays is repeated in succession. As each trayis lled at one end of the leer operators remove the annealed articles from the trays at the opposite end of the leer. By this arrangement of leer and conveyer, I am en abled to. subject'articles to be annealed. to"

a gradually increasing temperature in the initial compartment then'subject the articles to a gradually diminishing temperature, and, 'by reason of the arrangement of the annealing compartments and great length of conveyer chains the articles are confined within the leer a considerable length ottime' and not subjected to outside air,b until removed 'from the leer, I am enabled, also, by this construction of leer, to obtain va maximum annealing area occupying a minimum of Hoor space, and, by' this arrangement of leer I ani enabled to place the leer almost entirely beneath the ground or floor line, thus doing away with conveyors or the4 iire to the lilling and emptying-ends of the eer.

By the arrangement of the initial warming compartment, the annealing compartments, the dampered openings, between the annealing compartments and between, the annealing compartments 'l and the initial warming compartment, the inlets to various of the annealing compartments, for heat and products oit combustion, and the stack; the draft may be controlled to permit of any desired direction of travel of 'the heat and the products of combustion. of the current is essential vfor a number of reasons well known to persons versed in the art, amon which is that iii heating up the leer in or er to eXpel'all of the cold air therein, the various dampers may be set vin positions to direct the heat and products of combustion to travel through the entire leer, and, in order that the entire conveyer be llt) . heat from the imam@ heated in this heating process, the conveyor is set'in motion, the direction .of the conveyer being the same as the direction of the current in the leer. After this heating up has been accomplished, and it be desired to anneal ware, certain of the dampers 3 0 and 32 are set in position to directthe heat in the annealing compartments, directly connected with the source of heat, to travel in any desired direction with relation to the travel ofthe conveyer.

I claim:

l. In a leer, a series of inter-communicating compartments, a furnace arranged to .discharge heat into a number of said compartments, a conveyer arranged for travel within the compartments, and a separate compartment in the path of travel of series of compartments through which the conveyor travels before entering the series ofcompartments.

2. In a leer, a series of compartments, a furnace arranged to rdischarge heat into a number ot' the compartments, means for (li- -recting and controlling the heat between the compartments, a single compartment in the path of travel of the heat from the series of compartments, and a Conveyor arranged for travel through all of the compartments.

3. In an annealing leer, a series of intercommunicating compartments, a furnace arranged to discharge h eat into a number of the compartments, alsingyle compartment arranged in the pa-th of travel of the heat from the series .of compartments, means for directing and controlling the heat between `ka'jll of said compartments, and Ware-carrying means arranged for travel through all of the compartments. 4. In a leer, a series of compartments, a furnace arranged to discharge heat into a 'number of the compartments, means for controlling and directing the heat between the compartments, a conveyer arranged. for

vtravel within the compartments there being openings in the leer -to provide access to the conveyer and automatic means to pre.-

vent the escape of heat from the leer through said openings.

5. In a leer, a series of inter-communieating compartments, means for discharging heat into a number of said compartments, a single'compartment in the path of travel of the heat from the series of compartments, means for controlling and directing the heat from said number of compartments to the remainder of the compartments, and an endless ware-carrying means arranged for travel first through the single compartment and then through the series of compartments.

' 6. lIn' an annealing leer, a series of compartments, means for heating a number of the series to an annealing temperature,

means for directing the heat from the annealingv compartments to the remaining compartments so that there is a lower degrec of temperature in the remaining compartments, a vsingle compartment 1n the path oft' travel of the heat from the series of compartments, and a conveyer arranged for travel through the single compartment and thence through the series'of compartments.

7. In a. leer, a series of compartments, a single compartment, a furnace arranged to `discharge heat into a number of the compartments in the series, means for directing and controlling the heat between the series of compartments, means for directing and controlling the heat from the series of compartments to the single compartment, a conveyer arranged for travel through the compartments there being openings formed in the leer to provide access to the conveyer and means to prevent the escape of heat 'from the leer through said openings.

8. In a leer, a series of compartments, a single compartment, a furnace arranged to discharge heat into a number of compartments in the series, means for directing and controlling the heat between the compartments in said series, means for directing and controlling the heat from the series (if compartments to the single compartment, a conveyer arranged for travel through the com-v partments, means actuated by the conveyor to prevent escape of heat from the initial and terminal compartments ot said series, there being openings formed in the leerv to provide access to the conveyer and means to prevent escape of heat from the leer through said o enings. 4

9. ,n a leer, a series of compartments, a single compartment, a furnace arranged to discharge heat into a number of the com- 'part-ments in the series, means for directing and controlling the heat between the compartments in said series, means for directing and controlling the heat from the series of compartments'to the single compartment, sprocket wheels mounted in each of the compartments, chains embracing the sprocket wheels, trays carried by said chains, means actuated by the trays to prevent escape ofN compartment in the path "of travel of the A heat from the series of compartments, means for controlling the 'heat from the furnace so that there is an annealing temperature ina number of the compartments ot the series, and a lower temperature in the remaining compartments, anda ware-carrying conveyer arranged 'for travel first through the single compartment thence through the series of compartments whereby the conveyer is heated and put in condition to receive the Ware and the ware subjected irst to a gradual-ly increasing then to a gradually decreasing temperature.

1l. Ina leer, an inclosure, a furnace arranged to discharge heat into the inclosure, a conveyer arranged for travel through the inclosure, means for directingand controlling the heat through said inclosure, there being openings in the leer to provide access to the conveyer, means to prevent escape of heat from the leer through said openings, whereby articles carried by the conveyer to be annealed are first subjected to a gradually increasing then to a gradually diminishing heat and not subjected to outside air during their travel between said openings and a separate compartment in the path of travel of the heat from the incl osure through which said conveyer travels before entering the inclosure.

12. In an annealing leer, an inclosure, means for discharging heat into the inclosure, means for dividing the inclosure into a series of vertically disposed con'ipartn ments, and a single compartment horizontally disposed and' in the path of travel of heat from the series of compartments', dampered-openings for directing and controlling the heat between the compartments of the series and between the series ot compartments and the single compartment, an endless ware-carrying conveyer arranged for travel firstl through the single compartment thence thronghthe series of compartments, and means for closing at times the communications between the single compartment and the series of compartments.

18. ln a leer, an inclosure, means for d-ividing the inclosure into a series of vertically arranged compartments a'nd a single hOriZntal compartment, means for discompartment and thence through the compartments of the series.

14. In' a leen-an inclosure, means for di-` viding the inclosure into a series of vertij cally arranged compartments and a single horizontal compartment, means for discharging heat into va number of the compartments in the series at one end of the inclosure, a stack leading from the single compartment adjacent the opposite end of the inclosure, dampered-openings for controlling the heat between the compartments of the series and between the series and the single compartn'ient, an endless conveyer arranged 'or travel first through the* single con'ipartment and thence through the conn partments ot the series, there being openings providing access to the inclosure adjacent the ends of thesingle compartment, and means, operable byvsaid conveyer, for closing the ends of the single compartment at times.

In testimony whereof,l I have signed my. name to this specication, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

sonner n. MILLER. 

